Refrigerator car



July 6, 1937. H. A. GLENN 2,085,906

REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed Jan. 9, 19:55 5" sheets-sheet 1 "Wig WM Mr.l

-mlilllz .5/

July 6, 1937. H. A. GLENN REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed Jan. 9, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 6, 1937. H. A. GLENN REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed Jan. 9, 1955 I Ill I lu .u

gIIIIIA'VIII/'A Patented `luly 5, 1,937

Ni'i" STATES osant REFRIGERATOR CAR Howard A. Glenn, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to Dromgold 'di' Glenn, Chicago, Ill., a firm composed of .lack K. Dromgold and Howard A.

Glenn Application January 9, 1935, Serial No. 959

6 Claims.

This invention relates to railroad rolling stock used in transporting perishable goods such as meats, fruits, vegetables, dairy products and the like, and commonly known as refrigerator cars,

but it is also applicable to refrigerated motor vehicles and other installations.

Refrigerator cars 'have been constructed heretofore with a reirigerating means located Within the car at one or both ends thereof and compris- 10 ing a plurality of refrigerating tanks arranged in a group extending transversely of the car and spaced apart to increase the surface area and air circulation. These tanks have been installed in the car as separate units and supported indel5 pendently of each other, and a drain Valve for each tank is provided to drain the tanks separately into the frost drip pan arranged on the floor oi the car and provided with an outlet through the iioor. The valves are located above the bottom of the tanks and they are operated by means extending to the top or" the tanks and .accessible through the hatch openings in the roof of the car. This means for operating the valves is necessary because the car is usually packed full of perishable goods and is sealed in transit and the tanks must be drained for reicing at intervals during the travel of the car without breaking the seals and entering the car through the doors, and it is impossible to enter the car through the hatch openings. The valves cannot be examined in transit and there is no way of determining certainly if they are properly seated and closed tightly, and it not infrequently happens that valves fail to seat because of the presence of dirt or other foreign matter, or because they are not fully closed, or because the valves are defective or have worn out, with the result that the brine in the tanks will leak into the pan and escape through the well trap and be lost in transit. If the Valves leak while the car is in transit, and also when the tanks are being emptied at reicing stations, the diluted brine will splash out of the pan onto the floor and Walls of the car, damaging the body of the car and oftentimes damaging the goods in the car. The drain valve has been located some distance above the bottom oi the tank so that the bottom of the tank below the valve will constitute a sump to co1- lect dirt and other foreign matter which may be introduced with the ice and brine. This necessitates the provision of a clean-out door Witha suitable frame at the bottom of the tank and means for ksecu rely-and tightly fastening the g55 door; and sediment pans have been provided in the bottom of the tank to facilitateithe'removal of sediment.

In another type of construction the tanks have been made smaller and separately connected with a common header located beneath the tanks and above the drip pan and provided with an outlet through the floor of the car. VThis construction avoids the use of separate drain valves for the tanks and the splash of brine heretofore described, but it necessitates separate, connections between the tanks and the header, and these connections are preferably flexible and, of course, it involves the use of a header as an additional part.

The object of this invention is to simplify and improve the construction of the reirigerating means for a refrigerator car, to reduce the number of parts necessary for eliicient construction and installation, to provide as much, if not more, surface area on the tanks and air circulation than has been provid-ed heretofore, and to improveand facilitate the operation of draining and reicing the tanks.

Another object of the invention is to provide a unitary refrigerating tank for a refrigerator car comprising a plurality of compartments all of which are connected so that they can be drained simultaneously with a sui'cient now or brine across the bottom of the tank to an outlet at one end of the tank to remove sediment from the bottom of the tank.

Another object is to avoid draining brine Within the car, and the splash incident thereto, and to provide a single outlet pipe connected with the tank and extending through the body of thercar and provided with an accessible and visible valve for controlling the drain. Y

Another object is to provide a'reirigerating tank as a single'unit having the capacity of a plurality of tanks and divided into separate compartments connected together at the vbottom for simultaneous drainage.

Another object is to provide al refrigerating tank as a single unit and divided into separate compartments by hollow partitions to increase the surface'area of the tank and correspondingly increase the air circulation.

A further object is to provide a refrigerating l ing a compartment; and connected'togethe'r lfor use as aunit, and adapted to be installed intheY spacetusually occupied by the refrigeratingtanks in'a'car with an equivalentror greater Ysurface area providing an equivalent of greater air circulation.

And a still further object is to provide the roof of the refrigerator car with a section between the usual hatch openings at the end of the car which can be removed to provide with the hatch openings an elongated transverse opening in the roof of the car through which the tank may be installed in the car.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein is illustrated a selected embodiment of the invention Fig 1 is a sectional View of a refrigerator car showing one end thereof having my invention embodied therein;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view on the line 4 5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the unit tank;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the removable section of the car roof;

Fig. 7 is a sectional View similar to Fig. l showing another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a sectional View on the line 8 8 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line 9 9 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 10 is a sectional view corresponding to Fig. 8 but showing another form of connecting means between the sections.

The unit tank corresponds in shape substantially to the group of tanks heretofore used and occupies substantially the same space in the same location in the end of the car. In one form of my invention, Fig. 5, the tank 'I is made in one section having a plurality of transverse hollow partitions 8 open at the front and back of the tank and dividing the tank into compartments 9. The partitions terminate above the bottom of the tank and all of the compartments are connected beneath the partitions. An outlet pipe I0 is connected to the bottom of the tank, preferably at one end thereof, and through this out` let pipe the whole tank may be drained. This outlet pipe extends through the body of the car, preferably the floor, and is provided with a valve I0' outside of the car where it is accessible and visible. The tank has two lling openings II, II at the top spaced apart and provided with upstanding collars I2. Between these openings and collars the tank is closed at I3. Each of the openings extends over a partition so that access to two compartments may be had through each opening.

The car body, Figs. 1-4, has a iloor I4, sides I5, end I6 and a roof Il. The roof has two hatch openings I8, corresponding in location and substantially in size to the openings II in the tank, and liners I9 are arranged in the hatch openings and project downwardly into the collars I2 so that ice and brine or other refrigerant may be introduced through each hatch opening into two compartments of the tank. The liners I9 overhang the hatch frame I8 formed in part by the rails I9 on the intermediate section of the roof, and the liners are removable.

That section 20, Fig. 6, of the roof between the two hatches is made removable so that when the hatch plugs (not shown) and the intermediate section 2D are removed there will be an opening in the top of the car through which the tank may be inserted or removed. The tank may be taken into the car through the door but it will be convenient to pass the tank in through the roof opening, especially if the tank is made in one section. The removable section 20 of the roof is seated between front and rear rails 2l, Fig. 4, and is rigidly secured in place by bolts 22 which extend through the end I6 of the car and through the section 20 and rails 2| and through the adjacent rafter 23 of the roof of the car. Nuts 24 are countersunk or otherwise held in fixed position in the rafter 23 to receive threaded ends of the bolts 22 whereby the bolts are secured in place. Plates 25 are fastened over the nuts to the rafter to retain the nuts in place.

Angle irons 26 are arranged transversely of the car, spaced apart at the end thereof, and rest at their ends on supports at the sides of the car which may be formed, as shown in Fig. 1, by channel bars 21. 'Ihe tank rests upon the angle bars 26, Fig. 3, and it is secured in vplace by strap clamps 28 which extend through the hollow partitions 8, at the bottom thereof. and are fastened to the angle bars 26; and the tank is also se cured in place by bolts 29, Figs. 1, 3, corresponding with the bolts 22, which extend through the end of the car and through the hollow partitions 8 and are secured in the rafter 23 by nuts 30.

The frost which accumulates on the tank melts and the drippings are received in a pan 3l which is arranged on the floor of the car beneath the tank, Fig. 1, and is provided with a well trap 32. An apron 33 may be arranged along the end and sides of the car and depending into the pan 3| to insure protection for the end and sides of the car from any splash that may be caused by the drippings.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. '7-10, the unit tank is built up of a plurality of sections 34 spaced apart for air circulation and provided at the bottom with openings 35, which are preferably of large diameter. These openings are provided with flanges or collars 36 t0 receive a hose connection 31, Fig.r 8, or a union 38, Fig. 10, or other pipe tting. Thus the seotions are connected to form a single tank, and the connections are located at the bottom of the compartment in each section so that the flow of brine through the compartments will carry away the sediment which collects at the bottom of the compartments and discharge through the single outlet 39 as before described. It will be convenient to carry the sections 34 in through the door of the car and build up the tank in the car, for which reason the roof section between the hatch openings is not shown removable, but obviously the tank sections may be passed in through the roof as previously described, if desired. The liners 40 extend down into the upper ends of the compartments of the tank and the space between adjacent compartments at each hatch openingis closed by a spacing block 4I.

The invention greatly simplifies the construction and installation of the refrigerant container in the end of a car. The unit tank may have greater capacity than the separate tanks heretofore employed because it does not drain inside the car and does not require a header and therefore can be made deeper and extend close to the il'oor of the car. All the compartments of the tank are drained simultaneously and directly to the outside of the car and sediment in the bottom of the compartments will be carried to and through the outlet pipe by the ilow of the brine in draining. The hollow partitions 8 in the form of Fig. have the effect of increasing the surface area of the tank and also accommodate the strap clamps 28 and the fastening bolts 29. The roof section of Fig. 6 between the hatch openings can be easily removed to connect the hatch openings and form an elongated transverse opening in the roof of the car of sufficient size to permit the insertion or removal of the tank. After the tank is inserted in the car the roof section 20 may be replaced and secured. Making this section removable does not weaken the roof be cause the section is secured rigidly when it is in place.

I do not limit the invention to the embodiments selected for illustration and description but reserve the right to make such changes and alterations as fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerating tank adapted for use in a refrigerator car or the like and comprising a plurality of compartments, at least one of said compartments having a drain opening in the bottom wall thereof, means regulating flow through the drain opening, means including parts of the bottom walls of all of said compartments for establishing communication between said com-V partments whereby liquid may flow through said means to the compartment having the drain opening in the bottom wall thereof, the flow of liquid to said drain opening washing sediment collected on the bottom walls of said compartments to said drain opening to be discharged therethrough when the regulating means is opened.

2. In combination with a refrigerator car or the like, a refrigerating tank adapted for use in the car and comprising a plurality of compartments, at least one of said compartments having a drain opening in the bottom wall thereof, pipe means leading from said drain opening through the oor of the car and having a valve therein exteriorly of the car for controlling ow therethrough, means including parts of the bottom walls of all of said compartments for establishing communication between said compartments whereby liquid may flow through said means to the compartment having the drain opening in the bottom wall thereof, the flow of liquid to said drain opening washing sediment collected on the bottom walls of said compartments to said drain opening to be discharged through said drain opening and said pipe means when said valve is opened.

3. A refrigerating tank adapted for use in a refrigerator car or the`like and comprising an elongated substantially rectangular body, said body having a pair of spaced openings in the top wall thereof located at the ends of said wall, and means extending between the front and rear walls of said body and dividing the body intocompartments and comprising a plurality o-f pairs of spaced vertically extending plates arranged in substantially parallel relation with each other and the end walls of said body, the upper parts of one pair of said plates projecting into one of said openings, the upper parts of another pair of said plates projecting into the other of said openings, another pair of said plates being arranged intermediate of the pairs of plates projecting into said openings, closing means extending between the plates of each pair at the top edges thereof and comprising plates at the top edges of the pairs of plates projecting into said openings and at the top of the intermediate pair of plates, and closures extending between the bottom edges of the plates of each pair of plates and spaced from the bottom ofthe body and cooperating with the plates of each pair and the closing means associated therewith to provide hollow passages opening through the front and rear walls of said body whereby air may circulate through said hollow passages and over the sides of the body to be cooled by a refrigerant contained in the body.

4. A refrigerating tank adapted for use in a refrigerator car or the like and comprising a plurality of spaced sections, each of said sections consisting of a substantially rectangular elongated body open at the top and having a bottom wall, means arranged at the top of adjacent sections to cover the space therebetween, means comprising parts of the bottom walls and parts of the bodies of said sections at the bottom walls and in juxtaposed relation for providing intercommunicaton between the sections, and detachable means for interconnecting the intercommunication means.

5. A refrigerator car having a roof with spaced hatch openings therein at opposite sides of an end of the roof, a single refrigerating tank extending substantially from side to side of said car and comprising a plurality of integral compartments, means within the car for supporting the tank beneath the hatch openings, a removable section in the roof between the spaced hatch openings and extending from one opening to the other, and removable means for securing the removable section rigidly in place in the roof whereby said section may be removed to provide with the hatch openings a continuous space of sufcient size to install and remove the tank therethrough.

6. In a refrigerator car having a roof with spaced hatch openings therein at an end thereof,

a removable section in the roof between the spaced hatch openings and extending from one opening to the other, removable means for securing the removable section rigidly in place in the roof whereby said section may be removed to thereby provide with the hatch openings a continuous space in the roof of the car from side to side thereof, the combination of a single refrigerating tank extending substantially from side to side of said car and co-mprising a plurality of integral spaced compartments, one of said compartments having a drain opening in the bottom wall thereof, and meansincluding parts of the bottom walls of said compartments for establishing communication therebetween whereby liquid in the compartments may flow through said means to the compartment having the drain opening in the bottom wall thereof whereby said compartments may be drained simultaneously and the sediment collected on the bottom walls of said compartments will be washed to and discharged through said drain opening, and means supporting said tank in cooperative relation with said hatch openings whereby the tank may receive a refrigerant deposited therethrough.

HOWARD A.' GLENN. 

